RED DEER - Hockey Alberta’s Coach of the Month for October is Chad Goeree of Sherwood Park.

Chad is the Head Coach for the SPS Fuzion Peewee team, and the Assistant Coach for the SPS Fuzion Bantam team.

"My coaching philosophy is simply, first and foremost, making sure the athletes are having fun, learning team work, respecting others, and understanding the importance of hard work," said Chad. "I try to teach players that the only limitations they face in both hockey and life are the limitations they put on themselves, and that through hard work and dedication, they can accomplish anything."

"Coaching isn’t just about what happens on the ice, it matters what happens off the ice too. Kids need to come away from games and practices feeling good about themselves and Chad inevitably makes this happen," said the parent who nominted Chad. "Not only does Chad help grow the players, he helps grow his bench staff, including himself. Personal growth as leaders is encouraged and supported within the team. When we have coaches in the system that have become great leaders, it is important that they are recognized. It is my belief that Chad personifies this type of leader and should be recognized as such!"

For more details on Hockey Alberta’s Coach of the Month, or to nominate a coach, click here.

The Shoppe features a wide array of garments - with styles for males, females, and youths - in several colours, adorned with the Hockey Alberta logo. Each item can be personalized with an individual’s name, team or club name, and/or number.

The Shoppe includes clothing for males, females and youth, as well as hats, and bags from different manufacturers.

Eight teams will take to the ice in Fort McMurray on February 16-19, with 160 2005-born male players ready to take the first step in the Team Alberta program. Two teams each were formed from the South (Zones 1 & 2), Calgary (Zones 3 & 4), Edmonton (Zones 5 & 6), and the North (Zones 7 & 8).

Twenty players comprise each roster, along with volunteers serving as head coach, assistant coaches, coach mentor, and director of operations. Rosters were selected based on performances at regional camps held November 23-26 in Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Olds and Calgary.

The eight coaching staffs for the male program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach, and two assistant coaches. The six coaching staffs for the female program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach and one assistant coach.

RED DEER - Only nine officiating clinics remain for the 2017-18 hockey season in Alberta. If you are interested in taking part in one of the remaining clinics, please contact the appropriate clinic coordinator.

On defence, Alberta will be represented at the camp by Jacob Bernard-Docker (Canmore), Sean Comrie (Edmonton), Jarrod Gourley (Calgary), TJ Lloyd (Lloydminster) and Jonny Tychonick (Calgary/Penticton). Hunter Virostek (Turner Valley) is one of six goaltenders vying for a spot on Team Canada West.

Bonnyville Pontiacs’ Head Coach and General Manager, Rick Swan (Edmonton), will serve as an Assistant Coach for Team Canada West, after serving as Canada West’s Video Coach in 2016.

The Canada west hopefuls will assemble in Calgary December 2-5 for four days of practices and games as part of the Team Canada West selection camp at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Winsport. The players were selected from the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

The 2017 World Junior A Challenge Runs December 10-16 in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email info@hockeyalberta.ca.

RED DEER - Carla MacLeod and Serge Lajoie will be at the helm of the Alberta squads competing in hockey at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

Hockey Alberta kicked off “The Road to Red Deer” on Wednesday with the announcements that MacLeod is the head coach for the Team Alberta U18 Female team, and Lajoie is the head coach for the Team Alberta U16 Male team.

Both have previous experience in the Canada Winter Games and Team Alberta programs.

MacLeod was a member of Team Alberta as a player at two Canada Winter Games (1995 and 1999), and was the head coach of Team Alberta at the National Women’s U18 Championship in 2016. As a player, her international experience includes Olympic Gold Medals in 2006 and 2010. She also coached Team Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Currently, she is the Midget Female Prep head coach at the Edge School for Athletes.

“This is a tremendous honour. It has been a goal to get back involved with the Canada Games. Having been involved as a player, it almost feels like I’m coming full circle to come back as a coach. I know the magnitude of the Games, and I’m excited to have a front-row seat to some kids living that dream,” said MacLeod.

Lajoie was an assistant coach with the Team Alberta Male squad that won the bronze medal at the 2011 Games in Halifax, and head coach of the gold medalist U16 male squad at the 2013 Western Canada Challenge Cup. He also was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship. As a player, Lajoie participated in the inaugural Alberta Cup, winning a silver medal in 1986. Currently, he is the head coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

“This is quite an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to coach at the Canada Winter Games. I had the experience in 2011, and I know it is a big event,” said Lajoie. “I really look forward to the opportunity and the challenge to get the most out of the players and make it an experience they will remember for a long time.”

Bobby Fox will join Lajoie as the U16 Male team’s associate coach. Fox, currently an assistant coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers, has coached Team Alberta U16 squads twice, including as head coach of the gold medal squad at the 2015 Western Canada Challenge Cup.

Competition at the Canada Winter Games runs February 14-23, 2019 for the Male squad, and February 23-March 2 for the Female squad.

Assistant Coaches and Video Coaches

Hockey Alberta is now accepting applications for an Assistant Coach and a Video Coach for each Canada Winter Games squad. Application forms are available below:

RED DEER - Your vote could send one creative young Albertan on the trip of a lifetime!

Hockey Canada has once again partnered with Boston Pizza and Bauer to give young Canadians the opportunity to get into the game on a global level and show their creativity through the Design-A-Mask program.

The submission period has now ended. Four designs remain — two in the under-13 category and two in the 13-18 category — but only two can win.

Jaxon B. of Calgary and Brody P. of Edmonton were named the two finalists in the under-13 category. Both of their submissions can be seen below.

Your votes will determine which masks will be worn by Canada’s National Junior Team goaltenders at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, December 26, to January 5 in Buffalo, New York.

Winners will also receive a trip for two to a game at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship — in Vancouver/Victoria, British Columbia — along with a $50 Boston Pizza gift card, a Team Canada jersey, and his/her own replica painted mask.

The Speaker Series features a game-day seminar session, with each session offering a unique professional development opportunity to learn from high profile junior coaches - as well as a chance to catch the Grande Prairie Storm in action.

The night will feature presentations from Grande Prairie Storm Head Coach Matt Keillor, and Spruce Grove Saints Head Coach Bram Stephen, who coached together on Team Alberta’s gold medal-winning U16 team in 2016.

The Seminar will be held at Revolution Place in Grande Prairie. There are only 20 seats available for the seminar, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is $45 (plus GST) per coach, and includes the following ($200 value):

QUEBEC CITY - For the second straight year, Team Alberta claimed fifth place at the National Women’s U18 Championship, wrapping up the tournament with a 4-1 win over Quebec.

Danielle Serdachny opened the scoring for Alberta just under seven minutes into the first, and Kassy Betinol doubled the lead with her second goal of the tournament midway through the second period. Chloe Puddifant and Mackenzie Butz added two more for Alberta to begin the third, before Quebec broke the shutout bid with just seven minutes to go for a 4-1 final.

In her second start of the tournament, goaltender Camryn Dever made 24 saves for the win, and was named Alberta’s Player of the Game. Both Drever and Erin Fargey finished the tournament with a 1-1 record in net.

RED DEER - While members of the Greig family are no strangers to hockey accolades, brother and sister Ridly and Dara can now say they’ve made Hockey Alberta history.

With Ridly skating for Team Alberta’s U16 team at the 2017 WHL Cup, and Dara (for the second year) playing for the U18 squad at the 2017 U18 Nationals, the pair became the first brother and sister to play for Team Alberta at the same time.

“It’s been neat to share the Hockey Alberta process together, and to share and trade stories throughout the process,” said Dara. “It’s really cool to learn that we are the first brother and sister to represent Alberta in the same year, it’s something we can share for a lifetime.”

“I’ve enjoyed that Dara and I can talk about the experiences we’ve (both) had in making Team Alberta,” said Ridly. “To know that we are the first brother and sister to represent (Alberta) has been awesome.”

The apple apparently doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Ridly and Dara’s father, Mark, is a former professional hockey player. Drafted 15th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the former WHL standout is a veteran of over 1000 games as a pro, including 125 in the NHL.

“What a great honour for them to both have the opportunity, and be fortunate enough to make the teams,” said Mark. “They’ve talked about that in the past that they may have the experience together, and (we) feel pretty fortunate that it came true.”

With Dara already going through the Team Alberta process in 2016, Ridly was able to lean on his older sister and draw from her experience during his journey to the WHL Cup.

“The best advice Dara has given me regarding the Team Alberta process was the make sure I was prepared physically and mentally for all of the camps, prior to being selected.”

Prior to Ridly and Dara both being named to their respective Team Alberta rosters, the Greigs experienced another memorable hockey moment when Ridly won the 2017 Alberta Cup with Team South, exactly 30 years after Mark won the 1987 Alberta Cup with Calgary North.

“It’s great that years and years later, after I had such a wonderful experience, that this Hockey Alberta program is still going strong, and providing these experiences for the kids,” said Mark.

Ridly and Team Alberta narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the WHL Cup in October, losing 3-2 to Team BC in overtime. Meanwhile, Dara will be playing in the fifth-place game on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the U18 Nationals in Quebec, after Team Alberta finished round-robin play with a 1-2 record.

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email info@hockeyalberta.ca.

RED DEER - The first month of the 2017-18 Alberta Female Hockey League is now in the books, with the St. Albert Slash (Midget AAA), St. Alberta Sharks (Midget Elite), and Calgary Fire White (Bantam Elite) sitting atop the standings in their respective leagues.

Rocky Mountain Raiders forward Chloe Puddifant leads all skaters in points (12) through the first month of play, while Lloydminster forward Kelsey Hall (five goalies) and Calgary forward Mackenzie Loupelle (five assists) lead the league in their respective categories.

Goaltender Bella McKee was strong in net for Lloydminster in October, with a league-leading four wins. McKee’s 1.20 goals against average puts her second in the league, behind teammate Molly Mitchell, who currently holds a 1.00 GAA, while both goalies are tied for the league lead with a .960 save percentage.

Peace Country’s Shauna Johnson sits atop the leaderboard in goals (six), and is tied with Lethbridge’s Hayleigh Craig for the lead league in points (eight), while Johnson’s teammate, Karsyn May, holds the lead in assists (six).

Airdrie’s Cianna Weir and Peace Country’s Madison Doucette both set the pace for goaltenders in October with three wins each. Edmonton’s Josie-Leah Cardinal recorded two shutouts in four appearances (with two wins), while seven goaltenders sit tied for second with one shutout in October, including St. Alberta’s Cecelia Michelutti, who leads the league with a 0.50 GAA and a .970 save percentage in two starts.

Peace Country’s Charlieze Sallis set the pace for skaters in October with 10 points. Sherwood Park’s Jenna Goodwin leads the way with six goals, while Edmonton’s Sydney Dutertre is the league leader in assists, with five.

Through three games, Alexandra Kieren has been a wall in net for Calgary White, with a stingy 0.32 GAA and .980 save percentage in two wins and a shootout loss, along with two shutouts. Kieren’s counterpart, Kalynah Fong Martin, and Sherwood Park’s Asia Kachuk are tied for the league lead with four wins each.

QUEBEC CITY - Team Alberta closed out round-robin play at the U18 Nationals with a 3-0 win over Team Atlantic on Friday morning.

After being shut-out by both Ontario teams in the first two games, forward Kassy Betinol snapped Alberta’s goalless streak just 33 seconds into the second period. Team Alberta built on it’s lead early in the third with goals from Breanne Trotter and Courtney Kollman to seal its first win of the tournament.

In her second start, goaltender Erin Fargey shut the door on Team Atlantic, stopping all 25 shots sent her way to earn the shutout win, and earned Player of the Game honours for her efforts.

Team Alberta and Team Atlantic both sit with a 1-2 record following round-robin play. Alberta now awaits the results of the game between Ontario Red (1-1) and Ontario Blue (1-1) to find out when its game will be on Saturday.

For stats, a full schedule, and more information on the U18 Nationals, click here.

QUEBEC CITY - Team Alberta opened its 2017 National Women’s U18 Championship with a 4-0 loss to Team Ontario Blue on Wednesday.

Ontario Blue opened the scoring 9:16 into the game, and would add two more in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. After a scoreless second frame, Ontario added one more in the third to make it a 4-0 final.

Team Alberta was just narrowly out-shot by Ontario, 28-26. Camryn Drever stopped 24 of 28 shots, while her counterpart, Erica Fryer, stopped all 26 shots to earn the shutout win.

Forward Rachel Weiss was named Team Alberta’s Player of the Game in the loss.